mom and i sold houses together for over 22 years, until she retired in 2015. i have kept on selling houses. for sellers who are moving on, and to buyers who are moving in. real estate is such a part of our daily lives, that it carries over into everything we are. and it is of interest to so many people. so i thought i would start talking. who knows...i may actually find that i have something interesting to say :) www.tkmomteam.com

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Every three years the Federal Reserve conducts a Survey of Consumer Finances
in which they collect data across all economic and social groups. The
latest survey, which includes data from 2010-2013, reports that a
homeowner’s net worth is 36 times greater than that of a renter
($194,500 vs. $5,400).
In a recent Forbesarticle the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR)Chief Economist Lawrence Yun predicts that in 2016 the net worth gap will widen even further to 45 times greater.
The graph below demonstrates the results of the last two Federal Reserve studies and Yun’s prediction:

Put Your Housing Cost to Work For You

Simply put, homeownership is a form of ‘forced savings’. Every time you pay your mortgage you are contributing to your net worth. Every time you pay your rent, you are contributing to your landlord’s net worth.
The latest National Housing Pulse Surveyfrom NAR reveals that 80% of consumers believe that purchasing a home is a good financial decision. Yun comments:

“Though there will always be discussion about whether
to buy or rent, or whether the stock market offers a bigger return than
real estate, the reality is that homeowners steadily build wealth. The
simplest math shouldn’t be overlooked.”

Bottom Line

If you are interested in finding out if you could put your housing
cost to work for you through homeownership, meet with a real estate
professional in your area who can guide you through the process.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

With residential real estate values rising quite substantially in
most parts of the country over the last few years, many homeowners are
seeing a major increase in their family’s wealth as equity continues to
build in their house.
A recent study by the Joint Center of Housing Studies at Harvard University revealed that home equity grew nicely last year and has grown dramatically over the last five years…
Buyers looking today may not see the same build-up in equity but could still do quite well.
Let’s assume you went into contract in the next six weeks and closed
on a $250,000 home in January. If we take the house value projections
from the last Home Price Expectation Survey, here is how your equity would grow over the next four years:

Bottom Line

Homeownership has historically been a great way for the average American family to build wealth over time.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

We are often asked why there is so much paperwork mandated by the
bank for a mortgage loan application when buying a home today. It seems
that the bank needs to know everythingabout us and requires three separate sources to validate each and every entry on the application form.
Many buyers are being told by friends and family that the process was
a hundred times easier when they bought their home ten to twenty years
ago.
There are two very good reasons that the loan process is much more onerous on today’s buyer than perhaps any time in history.

The government has set new guidelines that now demand that the bank prove beyond any doubt
that you are indeed capable of affording the mortgage. During the
run-up in the housing market, many people ‘qualified’ for mortgages that
they could never pay back. This led to millions of families losing
their home. The government wants to make sure this can’t happen again

The banks don’t want to be in the real estate business. Over the
last seven years, banks were forced to take on the responsibility of
liquidating millions of foreclosures and also negotiating another
million plus short sales. Just like the government, they don’t want more
foreclosures. For that reason, they need to double (maybe even triple)
check everything on the application.

However, there is some good news in the situation. The housing crash
that mandated that banks be extremely strict on paperwork requirements
also allowed you to get a mortgage interest rate probably at or
below 4%.
The friends and family who bought homes ten or twenty ago experienced
a simpler mortgage application process but also paid a higher interest
rate (the average 30 year fixed rate mortgage was 8.12% in the 1990’s
and 6.29% in the 2000’s). If you went to the bank and offered to pay 7%
instead of <4%, they would probably bend over backwards to make the
process much easier.

Bottom Line

Instead of concentrating on the additional paperwork required, let’s
be thankful that we are able to buy a home at historically low rates.

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About Me

i am a mom. and a wife. and a realtor. when i grow up i want to spend all day taking pictures and then spend all night looking at them. in the meantime, i am going to keep selling houses. for sellers who are moving on, and to buyers who are moving in. real estate is such a part of our daily lives, that it carries over into everything we are. and it is of interest to so many people. so i thought i would start talking. who knows...i may actually find that i have something interesting to say :)